Good morning…
“Hi Sue!” On Saturday, the Retreat and Program Director texted me from Ignatius House Retreat Center. “Our next ISP overnight retreat is September 9-10. Let me know if your group is available to make 15 welcome bags.”
“Yes, we are happy to create bags,” I texted immediately. Then I reached out to a friend who generously provides toiletry kits for each retreat, and in less than 24 hours, the box pictured above arrived on our doorstep. We were on our way to fulfilling this special need in our community.
If you remember, ISP stands for Ignatian Spirituality Project, an international non-profit that provides retreat opportunities for people who are recovering from homelessness and addiction. Ignatius House, just off 285 on Riverside Drive, is the designated retreat center for ISP in the state of Georgia. They host quarterly retreats for recovering men and for recovering women. Our written word community regularly supports this important ministry by putting together welcome bags for the fifteen women chosen from local residential treatment centers to attend each overnight retreat.
At the end of July, I attended the VIRTUS training at Ignatius House for those involved with vulnerable populations. Many of the women who come on these retreats have lived through a very painful past. We learned some eye-opening facts.
One out of five women say they were sexually abused as children. That is an astounding fact, a fact which if often masked by addiction. Abuse survivors can and do heal, this is also a very important truth. As we share the tangible love of God with each welcome bag we create, we play a small role in supporting the healing process of these courageous women, women who are faithfully committed to their lifelong process of recovery.
Practice hospitality to one another… [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body] (1 Peter 4:9a, AMPC).
…Sue…
P.S. If you would like to contribute to our welcome bags this week, please email me at sue@suetoyou.com, and you can choose from our list of suggested items.
These retreats are offered by Ignatius House free of charge to the recovering women. If you would like to help offset the cost of lodging and food during this life-changing experience, please touch on this link to donate, indicating you are from our SueToYou community: https://ignatiushouseretreatcenter-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1361894
